Wider circle

Another accused has appeared in the case of Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak

In the scandalous criminal case of Deputy Finance Minister Sergei Storchak , who was arrested a month ago on charges of attempting to steal $43 million from the budget, another, fourth defendant has appeared. The Basmanny court issued a warrant for the arrest of Igor Kruglyakov, a member of the board of directors of the Interregional Investment Bank (IIB), who is also the president of VO Vneshtorgbiznes CJSC. According to the prosecution, he was also part of a criminal group that tried to carry out a scam under the guise of settling Algeria’s debt to Russia.

As MIB reported, Mr. Kruglyakov was detained on December 10 in his own office in the bank building on Slavyanskaya Square. His colleagues yesterday expressed bewilderment as to why the investigation decided that the banker was involved in this case. “For the last few years he has been a member of the bank’s board of directors. It is a supervisory body concerned mainly with the concept of development of the organization. Kruglyakov was not an employee of the IIB, and therefore could not make decisions on the activities of the credit institution,” noted Sergei Surov, deputy chairman of the bank’s board. He also explained that the company VO Vneshtorgbusiness, in which Mr. Kruglyakov holds the post of president, is one of the shareholders and clients of the bank.

“VO Vneshtorgbiznes” is engaged in foreign economic activities and, like IIB, is closely connected with the military-industrial complex. This company is a shareholder in a number of military enterprises, including the Moscow Helicopter Plant. Mil and the Baltic shipyard "Yantar". At various times, Mr. Kruglyakov, together with the current Deputy General Director of FSUE Rosoboronexport Alexei Aleshin, served on the board of directors of a number of military enterprises. At the same time, Vneshtorgbiznes itself refused to comment on the arrest of its president.

The Investigative Committee under the Prosecutor's Office (SKP) of the Russian Federation, which is leading this case, also did not officially comment on anything. Only unofficially, a source close to the investigation explained that the abuses charged against Mr. Kruglyakov relate to the period when he was the chairman of the board of directors of IIB. Then, according to the investigation, having entered into a criminal conspiracy with Sergei Storchak and other defendants in the case, the banker helped them “in the implementation of the criminal plan.” The IIB confirmed that at one time Mr. Kruglyakov was indeed the chairman of the board of directors, but called the investigation’s versions unfounded. “This position did not involve making any operational or financial decisions,” the bank said.

The lawyer of the arrested man, Henry Reznik, confirmed yesterday that on Monday investigators charged his client with “attempted fraud committed by an organized group on an especially large scale.” However, according to the lawyer, yesterday due to poor health his client was unable to testify as an accused. According to Mr. Reznik, Mr. Kruglyakov stated only that the essence of the charges was not clear to him. “The resolution is stated in such terms that it is non-specific and impossible to defend,” the lawyer said.

Sergei Storchak and two entrepreneurs - Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Interregional Investment Bank (IIB) Vadim Volkov and General Director of Sodexim CJSC Viktor Zakharov - were detained on November 15 on charges of attempting to steal more than $43 million from the state budget under the guise of covering costs incurred "Sodexim" in settling Algeria's debt to Russia. As the Ministry of Finance itself explained then, in the mid-90s, Sodexim contributed $26 million to the federal budget as collateral for participation in debt settlement transactions. However, in 2006, Russia wrote off the Algerian debt. In this regard, businessmen turned to the Russian government with a request to return this amount to them, as well as accrued interest. After lengthy negotiations, the Ministry of Finance agreed to compensate the entrepreneurs for the written off debt and transfer the money to Sodexim’s accounts at the IIB. This decision was agreed upon by a dozen departments, but the UPC believed that by acting in this way, the official and businessmen wanted to steal this amount from the budget.

Alexey IVLEV